Reinforced paperboard box construction



Aug. 14, 1956 E, ARNESQN 2,758,779

REINFORCED PAPERBOARD BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed June 18, 1953 2Sheets-Sheet 1 I 6 L1 t \l "J? :I 6

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14, 1956 E. L. ARNESON 2,758,779

- REINFORCED PAPERBOARD BOX CONSTRUCTION I Filed June 18, 1953 2Sheets-Sheet 2 7 f 1 2, U 1 1w /5 l 4 Ea 1L6 233 6. ,fl:

United States Patent REINFORCED PAPERBOARD BOX CONSTRUCTION Edwin L.Arneson, Morris, Ill., assignor to Morris Paper Mills, Chicago, Ill., acorporation of Illinois Application June 18, 1953, Serial No. 362,621

Claims. Cl. 229-31 The present invention relates to improvements in asuit box fabricated from a one-piece flexible paperboard blank. Theinvention particularly concerns novel provisions whereby a bottomsection of the box may be substantially reinforced and stiffened by animproved folding and gluing operation performed on a pair of constituentplies. The invention also relates to an improved method involving theseoperations.

It is now customary in the manufacture of folding paperboard boxes suchas are commonly designated as suit boxes to provide some sort ofreinforcing and stiffening means for a bottom panel thereof, i. e. thepanel in opposed relation to a panel to which a handle member is oftenapplied. One such suit box employs a separate paperboard or cardboardreinforcing strip of the same width and length as the bottom panel,which is adhered to the latter over its entire area. This constructioninvolves separate extra operations of dieing out the separatereinforcing strip and positioning and adhering the same in relation tothe bottom panel. These operations considerably increase the complexityof the manufacturing procedure.

Other structures have been proposed, in which the desired reinforcementis obtained by using a one-piece paperboard blank; however diflicultiesof controlling the blank are usually introduced in the gluing andfolding manipulations performed in conventional apparatus in which theboxes are fabricated.

Therefore, the invention aims to provide an improved foldable paperboardsuit box construction, and a method of making the same, in which aone-piece paperboard blank is slitted and creased in a medial areathereof to afford a bottom panel and a bottom reinforcing panel whichare arranged in overlapped, adhesively secured relation oversubstantially the entire area thereof when the box is completed.Furthermore, the invention affords connecting straps for these panelswhich are integrally hinged to the respective panels, inwardly of theopposite fore and rear end extremities thereof, enabling the blank to beproperly controlled as it is manipulated in the folding and gluingmachine, and thereby eliminating possibility of jamming of the panels ofthe blank as it traverses the machine.

Yet another object is to provide an improved paperboard folding suitbox, and a simple yet effective method for forming the same, involvingthe use of flexible hinging straps integral with each of a pair ofmedial bottom forming panels which the straps connect and control as thepanels are folded into substantially overlapped and adhesively securedrelation, thus to afford a bottom construction of two-ply thicknessthroughout a major part of the area thereof, and in which one of thebottom forming panels referred to has gusseted web portions integrallyhinged at its ends. These gusset portions are also hinged to end wallforming panels of the box and are folded inwardly of the box interiorwhen the latter is manipulated to closed condition, so as to form corner2,758,779 Patented Aug 14, 1956 bracing elements on each end of atwo-ply laminated box bottom.

The foregoing statements are indicative in a general way of the natureof the invention. Other and more specific objects will be apparent tothose skilled in the art upon a full understanding of the constructionand operation of the construction.

A single embodiment of the invention is presented herein for purpose ofillustration, however the invention may be incorporated in othermodified forms coming equally within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a flexible paperboard blank employed inmaking the improved box, illustrating the manner in which the same isdied out, slitted, creased and preliminarily glued as a preliminary tothe initial folding manipulation thereof;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the manner in whichcertain bottom forming panels of the blank are folded to an overlapped,adhesively secured and mutually reinforcing relation;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the completed suit box, showing themarginal end walls thereof in erected, upstanding relation to bottom andside wall forming panels which they adjoin, this view also indicating indot-dash line the position of these end wall panels prior to sucherection;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary View, in enlarged scale, showing the manner inwhich end gusset webs adjoining the reinforced bottom of the box aremanipulated in closing thelatter; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the closed box.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, a flexible paperboard or cardboardblank 10 from which the improved foldable suit box is fabricated is diedout in a general rectangular outline to provide a pair of sections 11,12 by which telescoping receptacle and cover units, respec tively, areafforded when the box is assembled and erected. For this reason theblank is shaped and creased so that the constituent panels of receptaclesection 11 are a trifle smaller than the corresponding panels of coversection 12. These sections are in large measure the same in outline andin the relationship of their parts; accordingly, corresponding referencenumerals are employed to designate corresponding parts.

These parts include the spaced side wall forming panels 13, end wallforming panels 14 integrally hinged to the latter by longitudinallyextending creases 15, and top forming panels 16 integrally hinged bytransverse creases 17 to opposed parallel margins of the panels 13. Eachof the panels 16 has an end glue flap 18 integrally hinged to itsopposite extremity by an extension 15' of crease 15, these flaps beingof slightly less Width than the width of the panels 16. Each of the endwall forming panels 14 is also provided with a 45 crease 19 at theopposed outer ends of those panels; this crease defines a triangularglue lap 20 which is ultimately adhered to the glue flaps 18 of top wallpanel 16.

Blank 10 is provided, between the respective side wall forming panels13, with a pair of bottom forming panels 21, 22. These are integrallyhinged to the side wall panels 13 of sections 11, 12 by the respectivetransverse creases 23, 24 which parallel creases 17. Bottom formingpanel21 is equipped with a pair of end gusset flaps 25, made up of generallytriangular gusset webs 26, 27 integrally hinged to one another by 45angular crease 28. Each crease 28 extends outwardly from the junction ofcreases 15 and 23 of blank section 11 to the inner corner of arectangular Gusset webs 26 are inte- 27 are similarly hinged to bottomforming panel 21 by extensions 15" of crease 15.

Bottom forming panels 21, 22 are of identical overall size in anelongated rectangular outline area. The opposite ends thereof coincidewith the line of creases 15, 15' and 15". These two panels are partiallyfreed from and at the same time hingedly articulated to one another bymeans of a series of medial, transversely extending slits 30, which areinterrupted by short crease lines 31 disposed well Within the ends ofthe respective panels and in alignment with slits 30. Parallel, shortlateral slits 32 extend into panel 21 from the termini of creases 31;and the ends of slits 32 are in turn connected by further short creases33 paralleling creases 31.

The last described slitting and creasing of the blank provides a pair oftransversely spaced hinge flaps 34 taken from the material of panel 21,by which bottom forming panels 21, 22, freed partially from one anotherby aligned medial slits 30, are nevertheless readily controlled as theyare foldably overlapped and adhered when the blank passes through aconventional straight line gluing and folding machine, in the directionof slits 30.

In completing the box from the blank 10, adhesive is applied, asindicated by stippling in Fig. 1, over the entire area of bottom formingpanel 22 except small portions in transversely aligned, laterally spacedrelation to hinge straps 34. This is done as the blank is fedlongitudinally of slits 30 through a conventional foldinginstrumentality, in which panel 21 is lifted and pivoted about creases33 while being shifted inwardly or to the left, as viewed in Fig. l, thehinge flaps 34 meanwhile hinging about the creases 31 by which they arearticulated to a margin of bottom forming panel 22, in the mannerindicated in Fig. 2. Straps 34 are folded 180 in this fashion, causingthe same to adhere to the adhesive coated surface of panel 22, and thelower surface of the remainder of panel 21 is also adhesively secured inface to face contact with lower bottom panel 22. The upwardly exposedportions of panel 22 are free of adhesive.

A double thickness bottom is thus formed for the box in a practical,economical and expeditious way, quite capable of being carried out onexisting folding and gluing machinery. Perfect control of the blank ismaintained at all times, by reason of the intermediately located,integrally hinged flaps 34.

. After the bottom has been formed in the manner de scribed, the endglue flaps 18 on each of the top forming panels 16 as well as each ofthe end wall forming panels 14 and associated gussets 25 are folded 180upwardly,

inwardly and downwardly about the respective creases L 1.5, 15 and 15",whereupon the triangular glue laps 20 on panels 14 are reversely folded180 about creases 19. Adhesive is now applied to the glue laps, afterwhich the top wall forming panels and their previously infolded endflaps 18 are folded 180 upwardly, inwardly and downwardly about creases17. This causes a triangular portion of the area of flaps 18 to adhereto glue laps 20, completing the box in its flat-knockdown condition.

The above described manipulations of the panels 14, 16 and appended gluelaps and flaps are in accordance with a more or less conventionalprocedure, and following the same the outline of the infolded top andend Wall panels is as indicated in dot-dash lines in Fig. 3 of thedrawings. Solid lines in Fig. 3 illustrate the position of the variouswall forming panels when the latter are swung upright, preparatory toclosing the box.

In closing the box, the gussets 25 on inner bottom forming panel 21 arebroken inwardly about their dividing creases 28, as illustrated in Fig.4 of the drawings, as the two-ply bottom and associated cover section 11are being swung upwardly about hinge crease 24. This insures thepositioning of gussets 25 in a doubled, face contacting relation oftheir constituent webs 26, 27, inside of the upstanding end wall formingpanels 14 of the section 12. The gussets thus act to brace the bottom ofthe box and are protected from snagging. The box is shown in finallyclosed condition in Fig. 5 of the drawings. A suitable handle may beapplied to the overlapped top panels 16 to hold the box closed.

I claim:

1. In a folding paperboard box construction which comprises a pair ofopposed side wall forming panels and a connecting wall forming unitextending between and hingedly connected to opposed edges thereof, saidunit comprising inner and outer wall panels integrally hingedrespectively, to said side wall panels by a pair of parallel creases,said inner and outer panels being partially separated from one anotherby spaced slits paralleling said creases and being hingedly connected toone another by straps extending transversely of said slits, the edges ofsaid straps being defined by cuts in the inner one of said unit formingpanels which intersect the line of said slits and which extend onlypartially of the width of that panel, said straps being integrallyjoined to said respective inner and outer panels on parallel creaselines connecting corresponding ends of said cuts, and said inner andouter panels being overlapped and secured to and in substantial registerwith one another with said straps lying between the same.

2. A folding paperboard box construction comprising telescoping boxsections having oppositely disposed side wall forming panels connectedalong parallel hinge lines by an end wall forming unit, said end wallforming unit consisting of two panels of substantially the same sizewhich are connected along parallel crease lines to the respective sidewall forming panels and which are partially disconnected from each otheralong a cutting line parallel with said hinge lines, said unit panelsbeing integrally connected to each other by strap forming portions cutfrom one of said unit panels and folded about a crease line at one endthereof which is aligned with said cutting line and a parallel creaseline which is spaced intermediate said hinge lines, the freed edges ofeach of said unit panels which are defined by said cutting line beingpositioned in the unit adjacent the hinge line connecting the other oneof said unit panels with the adjoining side wall forming panel and saidunit panels being secured in face to face engagement with each other andwith said folded strap forming portions secured between the same.

3. A paperboard blank which is cut and creased to provide a folding boxconstruction, siad blank being generally rectangular and being dividedinto a series of integrally connected box wall forming panels bytransversely and longitudially extending crease lines, two of saidpanels which are adapted to form spaced side walls in the set-up boxbeing spaced longitudinally in the blank by transversely extending hingeforming crease lines which define therebetween a pair of adjoiningpanels which are adapted to be arranged in superimposed relation in theset-up box to form a two-ply connecting side wall between said firstmentioned wall forming panels, said pair of wall forming panels beingpartially disconnected by a cutting line extending parallel with andintermediate said hinge forming crease lines, and a strap formation cutfrom one of said pair of wall forming panels on lines extendinggenerally transversely of said hinge forming crease lines between saidfirst mentioned cutting line and a crease line intermediate thetransverse edges of the panel from which it is cut.

4. A paperboard blank for a folding box construction, said blank beinggenerally rectangular and being divided into a series of integrallyconnected box wall forming panels by transversely and longitudinallyextending crease lines, two of said panels which are adapted to formspaced side walls in the set-up box being spaced longitudinally in theblank by transversely extending hinge forming crease lines which definetherebetween a pair of panels which are adapted to be arranged in faceto face relation in the set-up box to form a substantially two-plyconnecting side wall between said first mentioned side wall formingpanels, said pair of wall forming panels being divided by a cutting lineextending parallel with and intermediate said hinge forming creaselines, and a strap formation cut from one of said pair of wall formingpanels on lines extending in a direction which is generally transverseof said hinge forming crease lines and generally longitudinal of theblank, said strap formation interrupting said first mentioned cuttingline and terminating within said panel from which it is cut at a creaseline which extends transversely of the blank and intermediate thetransverse edges of the panel from which it is cut.

5. A paperboard blank for a folding box construction, said blank beinggenerally rectangular and being cut and creased to divide it into aseries of integrally connected box wall forming panels on transverselyand longitudinally extending lines, two of said panels which are adaptedto form spaced side walls in the set-up box being spaced longitudinallyin the blank by transversely extending 2 longitudinally spaced hingeforming crease lines which define therebetween two adjoining wallforming panels lines extending generally longitudinally of the blank,said last mentioned cutting lines extending from said first mentionedcutting line into one of said last mentioned wall forming panels andterminating at a crease line intermediate the transverse edges of thepanel from which it is cut.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,667,975 Labombaz de May 1, 1928 0 2,565,288 WOIEOId Aug. 21, 19512,596,205 Buttery May 13, 1952

